1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flexible disk drive, FDD, for writing and reading data on a flexible disk, FD, and, more specifically, to a positioning mechanism for the flexible disk, which is stored in a case.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is well known, a flexible disk drive is a device for writing and recording data on a disk-shaped magnetic recording medium, that is, a flexible disk (hereinafter also referred to as a “medium”) inserted therein. The flexible disk drive is installed in mobile electronic equipment, such as laptop computers, notebook computers, and notebook word processors.
The flexible disk drive of this type includes a pair of upper and lower magnetic heads for reading data from/writing data to a magnetic recording medium in a flexible disk, a carriage assembly for supporting the magnetic heads at the extremity thereof so as to be capable of moving in a predetermined radial direction with respect to the flexible disk, a stepping motor for moving the carriage assembly along the predetermined radial direction, and a DD (direct drive) motor such as a spindle motor for rotating the magnetic recording medium in the flexible disk while holding the same.
The flexible disk inserted into the flexible disk drive is held on a disk table in a state in which the revolving shaft coincides with the center axis of the flexible disk. The disk table is supported so as to be rotatable on the surface of a main frame. The disk table is rotated by the spindle motor, which is mounted in a recess formed on the main frame, whereby the magnetic recording medium in the flexible disk rotates. A control printed circuit board on which a number of electronic components are mounted is attached to the underside of the main frame.
The stepping motor is fixed to a sidewall of the main frame on the underside. The stepping motor drives the carriage assembly linearly along the radial direction.
The flexible disk drive in the related art further includes an eject plate for ejecting the inserted flexible disk, and a holder for storing the inserted flexible disk. The main frame, the eject plate, and the disk holder are formed by punching, press forming, or bending metal plates.
The flexible disk in the related art includes a plastic case having a case body and a shutter, and a flexible disk body including a hub at the center thereof. The flexible disk is accommodated in the plastic case. The case body of the flexible disk has positioning holes on both sides near one end thereof, one of which is circular and the other one of which is oval.
In the related art, positioning of the flexible disk inserted into the flexible disk drive has been performed by aligning the positioning holes on the flexible disk with dowels formed on the main frame for positioning the flexible disk.
As described above, the main frame of the flexible disk drive in the related art is formed by press forming metallic plates such as steel plates. However, most frames are formed by press forming, as in the case of the flexible disk drive described above, and thus formation of the dowel for positioning the flexible disk by a drawing process is very difficult.